The Most Extreme Urban Downhill We’ve Ever Seen

Downhill mountain biking has been around for some time, but the explosion of extreme sporting events over the past 20 years has taken downhill to another level entirely. Today, downhill racecourses run through dense urban areas, offering steep ramps, insane jumps and plenty of near misses. Perhaps no course is more hair-raising than the one that premiered last year in Taxco, Mexico.

A downhill biker follows a fellow racer through the perilous course and offers viewers a heart-stopping, mind-blowing perspective of the ultimate downhill racing experience.

The race begins on a mountain lookout that has riders leaping down a length of stairs and landings. A ramp then takes them over the edge of the lookout to a forest path of loose dirt and hairpin turns. (At 29 seconds, the camera guy barely misses a tree in the middle of the course.) At the end of the wooded area, the bikers cross a small street and soon encounter more hairpin turns—but this time on some very precarious stairs. Then come ramps that send the bikers hurtling at a breathless speed past a crowd of spectators

The course seems to open up at this point with wide, gentle turns. The bikers gather speed while easily dodging a few pedestrians. Then the riders suddenly drop from the edge of the street onto a ramp that shoots them down a series of claustrophobic alleys between rows of houses. There is still the occasional pedestrian here, hugging the stonewalls for dear life. Just when you think the course is about to open up for a while, the bikers shred onto a path even more constricted than the one before.

Then comes a rather tame-looking medium ramp. This one, however, takes the bikers over a wall and sends them plunging a couple of stories down a large ramp on the other side. A series of huge jumps follows, including one that sends them flying through a small pavilion. The bikers stop to collect their wits, but the show isn’t over yet. After turning down a narrow street, the racers encounter the biggest jumps in the course—except this time, the landing ramps are made of dirt instead of wood. Here, the bikers gain air between 20 and 30 feet. It’s a stunning finish that leaves the camera guy gasping in disbelief.

What’s even more incredible is that the winner of the Taxco Downhill completed this demented course in just over 4 minutes, 17 seconds. How’s that for extreme?